Release from the Inky Abyss
by Little-Darling-Devil
Summary: Sammy Lawrence is portrayed as the villain, but why? Maybe he isn't so bad after all. DISCLAIMER - I do not own any of the characters in this story, nor BATIM
1. Prologue

Joey Drew is crazy.

He was always eccentric but now he is bonkers. The deadlines are getting shorter and shorter, because the 'saviour' says so. God knows who he's talking about, but he sure isn't right in his mind. And this ink machine he keeps 'fixing'. Why is it here? We don't need it. He seems to think it is important, but it's just a nuisance. Even Wally Frank's usually empty threats might actually become a reality.

But the weirdest thing that he seems to be trying to ruin his own cartoons. He tells me to shut down the whole show every single day! Tells me to wait inside for further instructions. Only Susie seems to still believe in him. So I'll stick with him for now. But it doesn't mean I'm happy here. When the business fails, you'll know who to blame.


	2. Ruined

Joey Drew has ruined me.

I can only roam these empty halls as a ghoul, inky footprints cover the floor that I have trudged on all these years. My body convulses as He possesses me again, making me do his bidding. Oh how I wish to be free from his grasp! But I know it impossible to escape the dark pathways I tread. Even if I escape, where could I go? No-one would see me as... misunderstood, but no, they wouldn't see past the ink, and I would be forever a monster.

 _He's_ the real monster. Now he is making me betray my own frienfs. Oh Henry, please don't answer the letter!


	3. Alive

_Author's note ~ this chapter is based after Chapter 2 of BATIM (aka, 'The Old Song') so I'm sorry if chapter 3 of BATIM is different from mine._

I am dead.

This was the first thing I thought as the ink demon I had, no _He_ made me, release chased after Henry. Then I realised that I was thinking. It was a good start. But I was still a puddle of ink, dispatched by that monster. All I could do was slowly seep into the wall I was against. Maybe there I would be safe from Him.

Drifting through the rotting wood, I felt secure. I even found that I could peek my head (or what I had) out to scout. I had just passed my old office when I heard a growl. "I smell ink". I stopped dead in my tracks. There was only one person who that voice could belong to. I cautiously stepped out from the wall to be faced with the muzzle of a wolf.

"Boris?"


	4. Last Chance

How is he alive?

Then I see the crippled figure behind him. Henry's still alive too? How did they escape the wrath of that ink demon? At least they are here. I shudder to think of what could have happened, had they not got away.

Suddenly, I feel cold metal pressed against my ink-bound neck. In the time I had been drinking in my surroundings, Boris had crept up on me and currently had me trapped against the wall with a sharp knife at my throat. I knew I could just seep back into the wood, but I had a feeling that would not help the situation. "Well, it seems you have caught me" I said calmly. A groan came from behind Boris as Henry picked himself off the floor. "Sammy?" he rasped, voice sounding like sandpaper. Then realisation dawned on him. "SAMMY! Get your sorry inky butt out of my sight or SO HELP ME!"

"I am cornered, and have a blade at my throat. I hardly think I can do much" I try to keep my tone even, yet it's hard to stop the tremours from entering my voice. "Please, can I explain? I am not the man you think I am"

Henry pauses. "Talk" he growls. "You can do it with the knife, though"

Boris glanced at Henry in surprise. "Are you sure? He did try and kill you before"

"Yes, but he sounds different. And although he hasn't exactly been overly friendly to us, Sammy Lawrence is a terrible liar. I'll give him one chance. But if anything at all happens, he won't be alive long enough to regret it, I promise" The last words were directed in my direction. I knew I had only one shot at this. Henry always kept his promises. Taking a deep breath, I decided to start from the beginning...


	5. Lost Memories- Part 1

_Joey was always eccentric. But after you left the studio, Henry, he was more than just that._

 _He was mad._

 _He installed the ink machine without anyone knowing, and then placed it right above us so all we could hear all day was the churning of ink through the pipes. Then it leaked all over the place. So I drew the short straw and got the pump switch in my office. It didn't help that deadlines kept getting shorter and shorter, but the people interrupting me day in and day out was getting on my nerves. Soon it wouldn't only be Joey who was mad._

 _But then Joey started asking me favours. Weird ones. Asking me to shut down the show everyday and wait inside. He told me the '_ Saviour _' would give me instructions. The thing that creeped me out the most, though, was the voice in my head. It wasn't my thoughts. It was the dark, raspy tones of the_ Thing _that commanded me to it's bidding. I did so. But soon I grew tired of being submissive. I was not going to be ordered around by something I couldn't see. I decided it was time to fight back._


	6. Lost Memories- Part 2

_It didn't work._

 _He was too strong. He took over my body, rendering me as useless as a puppet on a string. There was nothing I could do. But oh, the pain. I could do nothing but let him hurt me. So I stopped fighting. Did everything he said willingly. Just so that I would not be in agony every day._

 _But the damage had already been done._

 _Most of the employees had left by the time Joey decided to punish me. He told me that since I wasn't a believer, I had to pay for my mistakes. Said that he was going to bring the demon back to life. But it required a sacrifice. My humanity. He made me a monster, born from the ink machine I loathed so much. Everyone was told I had quit, but I was never really gone from this god-forsaken studio. I watched from the shadows as he bought his cartoons to life. And then he tortured them. I wished I could have intervened, but I was never really in control. The_ Thing _was still inside of me, stopping me from doing anything against his wishes. The studio slowly grew more and more derelict, and soon Joey was the only one left._

 _Then one day, he vanished._

 _Nothing was left of him. Not a trace, nothing. There was no body, and I was left alone, in the dark._

 _Until you came back._

 _I never wanted you to die. It wasn't me trying to sacrifice you. It was Him._


	7. Promises

When I had finished my story, Henry and Boris looked at me, with matching expressions of disbelief. "So, you weren't actually trying to sacrifice me to your 'Saviour'" Henry tentatively asked.

"No! I mean, sort of, but it wasn't really me, well, at least in control, if you know what I'm saying"

Henry slowly nodded "I think I understand now" he said. "You're possessed by this demon-thing, and it can control you, right?"

"Right"

"Then why hasn't he controlled you yet? I mean, he's had plenty of chances, you're standing right in front of me"

I think for a second. Then I realise. "I think when he made me summon him, he lost power over me. That's why he tried to kill me. You know, he would have succeded had you not escaped. So I guess I owe you my life."

Henry seemed taken aback by this. Slowly, he motions for Boris to release me, and the wolf takes the knife away from my throat. I breathe a sigh of relief. Boris looked at me and growled "Just because you are free, doesn't mean that I trust you."

I knew that they had no reason to believe me, yet here they were, giving me another chance to do the right thing.

"I swear, I will lay down my life to help you get out of here alive"


	8. The Illusion of the Living

Boris looks between Henry an I, shaking his head.

"I can't believe you just did that, Sammy." he mutters. "But since you're on our side now, do you know how to get out of here without that demon finding us?"

I think for a second. "There's no real way we can avoid him, but if we're quick, I think I know a place where we can go."

Henry looks at Boris for a second. An unspoken conversation seems to go between them, as if they can read each other's thoughts. I wait. "Well?"

Boris nods at Henry one last time. He turns to me. "We're going to need some back up"

"Who? We can't put anyone's life in danger, and besides, most people won't believe us"

"I was bought to life, so it seems possible to bring the others to life too." Boris replies.

"How?" I ask. "Do you remember anything?"

"I remember Joey saying something out of a book... I don't really remember the title..."

" _The Illusion of the Living_ " Henry gasps. "I needed it to turn on that machine, but it's in the break room. We'll never get past the devil alive"

Boris looks thoughtful. Then he said curiously, "Sammy, how exactly did you get in here?"

"I sort of just seeped into the walls" I mumble. "I guess I can move through them, like tunnels all over the studio..." I trail off as I realise Boris's plan.

"Do you think you can get the book?" Henry asks. "Can you even take other object through walls with you?"

"I've never really tried, but since I'm still wearing my overalls and mask, I guess I can"

"Great" Henry beams. "I guess you will be bringing Bendy to life after all"


	9. The Inky Figure

I slip through the walls, a ghost amidst the ink . Gliding through the darkened corridors, yet never feeling the presence of the ink demon. _Where can he have gone?_ I think to myself. _He can't be able to travel through walls too, can he?_ I shake off the thought. If he could, he would have found Henry by now, and Boris would have known. As much as the wolf didn't trust me, I knew his nose was always right, and he would protect the people he loved to the bitter end.

I had seen it once before.

I had stood in the shadows, watching Joey murder him, and done nothing. I couldn't it that happen again. I had to find that book.

I stopped as I realised that, lost in thought, I had slid right past the break room. Backtracking, I stepped out into the dimly lit room, and made my way over to the pedestals. They were each marked with a symbol behind them, not that you really needed it. Who's going to confuse a doll with a record? I found th book in no time at all, and was about to slip back into the wall when I heard footsteps.

I froze. I couldn't do anything for fear of him hearing me. But the book! Surely he would notice it missing? The footsteps grew louder as the inky figure made it's way down the hall. The floor boards creaked as he got closer and closer. "Where are you, Henry?" it called softly. I almost jumped in shock. The tone was deep, raspy and dangerously quiet, but I had heard it enough times in the past to know exactly who it belonged to. His voice, though slighty different, was that of Joey Drew.


	10. Joey's friends

After the footsteps had faded, I practically dove into the wall. Joey Drew was alive, somehow fused with that demon thing, and bought to life by the ink machine. I had to get back to Boris and Henry as quickly as I could travel through the wood. This changes everything. Now, instead of huting a monster that tried to kill him, Henry has to face his own old friend. For him, that is going to be hard. Henry's been friend with Joey since high school, and now I have to tell him that he is the one hunting him down.

I'm lucky telling Boris won't be as difficult. He already has enough reasons to hate Joey, adding another one to the list won't make much difference. Boris might be a usually calm character, but never get on his bad side. I saw what he did to Joey before he got murdered, and I know that he wasn't willing to kill before. But now, I have a feeling that if Joey crosses him, it won't be pretty.


	11. He's After Us

Sliding through the walls at a remarkable speed, I almost lead out of it when I find Henry and Boris. Panting, I manage to say in between breaths "Joey's alive... ink... book.. after you..."

"What?" Boris asks "I have no idea what you're saying, Sammy"

I stop, take a breath, and start again. "Joey is alive. He's somehow managed to fuse with a demon and is now coming after us. That ink figure he made me bring to life? That's them. I got the book, but I was almost seen by him. He knows you're in here somewhere. Henry, he's after you. He is trying to hunt you down."

After I said this, it looked like a shockwave had hit the room, stunning both Boris and Henry. They just stood there, agape, staring at me as if I had just grown a second head. Finally, Henry spoke, "Joey's... alive?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid he's not the friend you once knew. He's changed. He's evil. And he's out there, searching, waiting to kill you, Henry"

Boris growls. "He's not getting his filthy, traitorous hands on my friends, not while I'm still standing"

I look between the friends, one torn apart by grief and confusion, the other trembling with rage. "We are going to get out of this place alive, I can promise you that much. But to do that, we'll need all the help we can get. I think the time is right to summon Bendy."


	12. A Devil of Ink

I stood in front of the pentagram we had painted on the floor. Five candles ringed the edge, and a cardboard cut-out of the little devil himself stood in the middle. "Well?" Henry asked nervously. "Can you drip the ink onto him?"

I summon all the will power I can muster. Focusing on the puddle of ink, I make the dark liquid rise up, directly above the cut-out. "Arise from the shadows" I chant as I slowly let the ink pour down. "Emerge from you inky prison, I free you, and I release you from the bonds of the page". As the ink trickles over the cardboard, it seems to melt, dripping into a puddle of shadows. The ink starts to shudder, casting ripples across its smooth, black surface. I swallow, but continue, my voice growing in volume. It's a good thing that the vault is soundproof. "Hear me, as I summon you, Bendy, in ink and darkness. No more a cartoon, please answer the call, for tonight, we bring you, TO LIFE!"

At the last words, the ink starts to form a silhouette of a horned figure. Like a puppet, he starts bent, then slowly draws himself up. _Wow,_ I think, _he's shorter than I expected._ As he straightens up, Bendy suddenly blinks and looks around. "Whe... Where am I?" he manages to stammer. Then he spies me, "SAMMY?"

I hardly have a second to marvel at how the toon still remembers me, as he throws himself at me, a little furious bundle of anger. Fists pummeling me, he screams "WHAT DID YOU DO TO BORIS? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

I can't gasp out the words properly as I start dissolving under the sheer force of his fury. "Right... he's here.. over.. in the corner...". I seep into the floorboards, away from the devil's reach. I climb up the walls, and look out. Bendy sighs and, panting he collapses. He looks around himself and to get a hold of his bearings. His eyes widen as he sees his friend peering at him.

"Boris? You're still alive?" He flings himself at the wolf. Wrapping his arms around his waist, he hugs Boris tightly. The taller cartoon seems startled at first, yet hugs hi back just as fiercely. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you." Bendy starts crying, ink running down his face. "I'll never let them do anything to harm you again".


	13. A Parting Note

And there it is. The first story. I will be writing the sequel soon, so stay tuned! Each story will be 10 chapters (excluding the prologue).

Also a big thank you to Winter's Writing, Ariel-Mystic-Siren, for reviewing my story, and Devils-Wearing-Bowties, for whom this series is dedicated to.

Hope you enjoyed!

Until next time,

Little-Darling-Devil


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